Miniature Wargames
Aeronautica Imperialis — Chaos Harbinger
ForgeWorld just announced a new model for Aeronautica Imperialis, the Chaos Harbinger. It is a huge heavy bomber designed to level cities and engulf them in a sea of incendiary fire. The model is very large at 17cm long and just over 11cm wide, which makes it comparable in scale to a Tau Manta.
ForgeWorld has released experimental rules for using the Harbinger in your games of AI. [Update: Tactica Aeronautica includes the official rules.]
The Harbinger is available to pre-order now for release the week of July 2nd.
AT-43 — Assault Medusas
The Therians get more reinforcements with the new Unit Box: Assault Medusas. The box contains four Medusas, three with Nucleus Rifle and Electrolash and one with a Nucleus Gun and Electrolash, plus three unit cards. The unit cards contradict the AT-43 Rulebook and the website that say the Medusas are armed with Sonic Guns. They are roughly the size of a Golem and are painted black with an orange wash, a dark gray drybrush, and orange details. They look good, fairly menacing, and have little to no flash.
The Assault Medusa is considerably slower than a standard Golem with a speed of just ten but has a bit more armor. The Nucleus Gun is a good weapon but the Electrolash is inferior in damage to the Reaper Blades but has higher accuracy and two attack dice. The army list in the AT-43 Rulebook does not specify what type of weapon the Electrolash is but one can assume it is for close combat. This was confirmed on the AT-43 Forum by Rackham.
AT-43 U.N.A. Army Book — Review
The first AT-43 army book is for the U.N.A. The quality and layout is similar to the main rulebook but the cover seems a tad thicker. The book is 64 pages long. A small error slipped past and the company roster sheet at the end of the book is in French. You can get the English version off the website.
The book includes 16 pages of information on the U.N.A and the history of Ava but the majority of the book is dedicated to the White Stars and begins with information on a number of U.N.A factions: CENTCOM, M.Ind, and Union. Each faction has their own benefits and disadvantages. For example, M.Ind is a vehicle heavy faction but also collapses if all its vehicles are lost regardless of troop losses. A couple pages detail the various weapons, and heroes are included in more detail than in the main rulebook. Read the rest of this entry »
AT-43 The Rulebook — Review
With the free rules preview having been out for a few months now you would not think the actual rulebook would hold any surprises. You would be wrong. The AT-43 rulebook is a 127 page, full-color, softbound book. The feel is more like a magazine because the paper, including the cover, is thin with high gloss. There is color on almost every page and the layout is well done. Overall the look is very professional.
In addition to pages 46-77 included in the free rules download, the full rulebook includes an introduction to the AT-43 universe, i.e. ‘fluff’, as well as an introduction to the four starter races, the White Stars, Therians, Red Blok, and Karmans. This section includes some really great full-color artwork, photos of the miniatures, as well as black and white concept sketches. Read the rest of this entry »
AT-43 — FAQ
Rackham now has a FAQ available for AT-43. It is a single page of clarifications and corrections for the main rulebook and the UNA and Therian Army Books.
Also, a nice fellow over on the AT-43 forums has compiled a great FAQ from the official answers given on the forum by Rackham folks.
[Update: See the new errata. 18APR08]
AT-43 — The Third Wave
The third round of AT-43 releases is available. This includes a number of new models for both the Therians and the UNA.
The Therians finally get some new striders. First is a new Golgoth, the Wraith Golgoth 03, which is also known as the ‘red Wraith’. The model is identical to the 02 model and the one from the OD set. What makes it different is that it has deep red spray on the top, slightly different markings, and also comes with a second medium sonic cannon for the right side. I am not sure if the weapon selection is random or not (there is a card for an ‘Incubus Golgoth’ with dual medium nucleus cannons). The other slight difference from the previous Golgoths is that this one has the front legs mounted closer in. Personally I do not think this looks as good but you could easily snip them off the base and reposition them because the legs move freely within their main body mount. Also slightly different with this entire set of Therian releases is that the ‘faces’ are now painted white instead of the cream color of previous releases. I think this looks less creepy. Lastly the model also comes with a dark gray storage container and four unit cards. Read the rest of this entry »
Victory at Sea — Another View
John and Dan from the All About Miniatures podcast review Mongoose’s Victory at Sea ruleset on their latest show, episode 8. They also compiled some suggestions for increasing realism in the game and provide some useful quick reference sheets. Of course do not miss our own review that also includes an example of combat.
AT-43 – The Second Wave
The second round of AT-43 releases are generally available now. This round includes the Accessory: Expansion Set 1, the Therian Bane goliaths, the U.N.A. Steel TacArms, Fire Toad MK.02, and Fire Toad MK.03.
The Therian Bane goliaths are the first of the new Therian infantry units. The Bane goliath ships three to a box and includes two unit cards although neither has a leadership value. One figure has a removable back plug that can be swapped with the leader back plug. All the figures are armed with dual nucleus guns. It is a well done figure overall and very large. They are on the same sized base as a Games Workshop Terminator but quite a bit larger. Overall it is an imposing figure especially when next to a Steel Trooper. The paint job is more like the original OD paint scheme than the newer golems. It is black with an orange wash and very dark gray highlights. The face is painted in a cream color and the various blades are touched with silver. Overall the paint job looks quite good. My only complaint with the Bane goliath is that it is rather bendy compared to the other figures. This is good for durability but a number of the figures we got were misshapen in various ways. See our article on how to straighten out your figures. The paint quality does vary from box to box and figure to figure so if you buy them in a store be sure to look through all the boxes and choose which ones you like best. Read the rest of this entry »
AT-43 — How to Straighten Out Your Figures
AT-43 miniatures are, for the most part, well cast, but the plastic used is slightly soft especially on the Therian units. The side effect is the occasional misshapen figure. Bent appendages are especially common on Therian figures. Luckily this situation is an easy one to rectify. All you need to do is put your figure, or the part you are trying to reshape, into warm water. Start with lukewarm water and get hotter to see what works best for you. After about 10-30 seconds in the water pull the figure out and you will be able to reshape it easily. Then simply run it under some cool water so it stays that way.
In the case of the Therian Bane goliath simply drop the entire figure into warm tap water. When you pull it out you should be able to reposition the entire figure’s stance as well as the position of the one free leg and also easily straighten out any bent arms, guns, or blades. This trick works great on all figures, such as the laser guns on the UNA TacArms, but the Bane goliath seems to need the most work.
In general the AT-43 figures seem very sensitive to heat and should be kept in moderate temperatures. I would not recommend leaving them in a hot car especially if you live somewhere like Arizona. But if your figures do become bent you can easily fix them.
This trick also helps with removable heads, arms, and torsos for replacing with the various option parts.
15mm Pre-Painted Buildings — A Few Choices
We recently picked up some new pre-painted 15mm buildings.
The 15mm buildings from The Miniature Building Authority are part of the EuroVillage series. They have a number of designs including a new apartment building and factory. We got the Townhouse rows. The buildings are cast in something that feels like a ceramic but is probably not. The molding and detailing is crisp and clean. The painting is also well done and should be acceptable to all but the most discriminating painters. All the buildings have a nice feature where you can take the top off and it leaves a ‘ruined’ bottom half. This is great for destroyed areas or just for access to the interior. The only problem is, at least with the Townhouse Row, the inside is too small to fit a regular infantry stand for Flames of War. Smaller stands, including FoW leader stands, fit fine. Read the rest of this entry »
The View from the Turret 
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